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Philly building collapse investigation underway, rescue efforts over

June 7, 2013

The search through the rubble of a collapsed Center City Philadelphia building officially ended Thursday afternoon.The rescue workers stopped searching for people where a four-story building and a thrift store once stood at 22nd and Market streets.

Six people died in the collapse Wednesday. Fourteen more were saved, all but one escaping with only minor injuries.

“We continued to move forward even in those moments when we were just pulling a body or someone who’s lost their life,” Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said of the rescue effort. “Out of those situations, we press forward because we believe there’s a void somewhere in there where someone is just waiting for us to get to them.”

All six of those killed were discovered on the first floor of the Salvation Army thrift store. Some of the survivors were found in the shop’s basement.

The scene will now be turned over to police, the Fire Marshal’s Office and the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections for further investigation.